Percy Harvin Finally Delivers on Seattle’s Investment

Percy Harvin after catching a first-half pass. He returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown.

Barton Silverman / The New York Times

By TOM PEDULLA

February 3, 2014

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Seattle Seahawks were so certain that Percy Harvin was the game-breaking offensive player they needed to advance to the Super Bowl that they traded first- and third-round draft choices in 2013 and their third-round selection this year to the Minnesota Vikings to obtain him.

Then they waited for a return. And waited. And waited.

No one could have imagined that Seattle’s patience would be tested until Super Bowl XLVIII, but it was ultimately rewarded. Harvin returned the second-half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and finished with 137 total yards in sparking the Seahawks’ 43-8 demolition of the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

When it was over, he struggled to make sense of a wild ride that included hip surgery, a concussion and nagging doubt about whether he would ever be healthy enough to contribute this season. “It’s unreal right now,” he said. “To even be here right now, I can’t even explain it right now. It’s incredible.”

It was a dazzling finish for Harvin and a team that must still feel somewhat new to him. He never made it to the regular-season opener, requiring delicate hip surgery in August. A rigorous rehabilitation program sidelined him for 15 of 16 regular-season games, keeping him from developing a rapport with quarterback Russell Wilson.

Harvin returned for Week 11 and had one reception against his former team on Nov. 17. When his hip again began ailing during the bye week that followed, he realized he had come back too soon.

He rejoined the lineup for the divisional round of the playoffs and pulled in two passes against the New Orleans Saints only to sustain a concussion when his head struck the turf. He was in an all-too-familiar place — on the sideline — when Seattle made do with a relatively no-name receiving corps in slipping past the San Francisco 49ers, 23-17, in the N.F.C. championship game.

After Harvin finally escaped the sideline to make the impact that was always expected, his prevailing sentiment was one of gratitude. “This team, the way they stood behind me, the way they backed me all year, it means a lot to me,” he said.

Harvin had finally pronounced himself healthy in the days leading to the Super Bowl, saying, “I’m looking forward to being effective in this game.” He smiled as he spoke, quietly confident that his body would finally allow him to compete. He showed against Denver how high the bar is for him, leaving tacklers grasping for air.

Slide Show | Super Bowl XLVIII: Seahawks Shrug at Pressure, Then Deliver It, for First Title Seattle’s defense made an emphatic statement against the league’s best offense. “We ran into a buzz saw,” said John Fox, the Broncos coach.

Chang W. Lee / The New York Times

Darrell Bevell, Seattle’s offensive coordinator, was so eager to establish Harvin as a threat that Denver would be forced to respect that he turned to him almost immediately. After Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks’ bruising running back, slammed up the middle for 3 yards on the team’s first offensive series, the call came in for Harvin.

After hip surgery, after a concussion, after so much missed time, he was still as fast and elusive as ever. On an end-around from the Seattle 39, he went left and did not stop until strong safety Duke Ihenacho dragged him down at Denver’s 31. Seattle went on to a field goal from Steven Hauschka.

“It’s just fun to be able to have him in the game,” Bevell said of Harvin. “You could see on the second play of the game what happens when the ball is in his hands. It just kind of showed that you better pay attention to where Percy is.”

On Seattle’s second possession, Harvin made a first-down grab of 5 yards as part of a 13-play, 58-yard advance that led to another Hauschka field goal and an 8-0 lead. After Kam Chancellor intercepted Peyton Manning and the Seahawks took over at the Broncos’ 37, Harvin immediately went to work again. Another end-around went for 15 yards before free safety Mike Adams brought him down.

With Seattle owning a stunning 22-0 halftime advantage, Harvin put the exclamation point on the Seahawks’ first Super Bowl championship. Matt Prater opened the second half with a kickoff that was high but short — and in the direction of the wrong man. Harvin fielded it at his 13, cut left to avoid a cluster of three tacklers and then turned on the blistering speed that helped Florida to national championships in 2006 and 2008 and made him the Vikings’ first-round choice in 2009.

“We were calling for it all week; we knew it was a good chance,” Harvin said. “We had to put that on film all year, and the guys did a heck of a job blocking. As soon as I caught the ball, it was open field.”

Harvin has always towered above the crowd. He emerged as the Associated Press’s offensive rookie of the year and totaled 1,800 or more all-purpose yards every year from 2009 to ’11.

Rick Spielman, Minnesota’s general manager, at first insisted that he would not consider trading Harvin, calling him a “dynamic playmaker.” But he relented as Seattle’s offer grew. Adrian Peterson, the Vikings’ star running back, posted on Twitter when Harvin was traded: “The best all-around player I ever seen or you’ll ever see! Goes to Seattle! I feel like I just got kicked in the stomach. Several times!!!”